• by Teresa Buyikian , September 12, 2023

Chili’s Grill & Bar this week announced the return of its annual Create-A-Pepper program to run through the end of September.

In its eleventh year, the program gives Chili’s guests the opportunity to purchase a Create-A-Pepper coloring sheet on which they can design and color the chain’s pepper logo and have their work displayed on the walls of the restaurant. For the first time this year, guests will also have a chance for their artwork to be featured outside the restaurant, temporarily replacing the chili pepper logo with their original designs.

One hundred percent of proceeds from the purchased coloring sheets will benefit St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital to advance treatment research and help ensure that no family receives a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food. According to a release, Chili’s has partnered with St. Jude for 21 years, donating over $100 million to the nonprofit.

"An act as simple as one child in Dallas or Memphis coloring at a local Chili's restaurant can help make a difference for children here in the U.S. and around the world,” said the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, said in a release.

This year Chili’s also partnered with streetwear designer Dan Gamache, known under the artist name of Mache, for his footwear artwork. Gamache designed a limited-edition pair of cleats featuring St. Jude patient artwork for Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard. He wore the cleats during his warm-up Sept. 10 before the Cowboys' first game of the season against the New York Giants.

The chain kicked off the Create-A-Pepper program in 2002 by temporarily replacing its logo with special art outside a Chili's in Memphis, aided by an employee aiming to give back to the community. The art was created by a St. Jude patient as part of the hospital’s art therapy program, which incorporates creative activities as a component of care.